Research on the needs of Czech diaspora members in selected countries in terms of maintaining their ties to the Czech Republic.UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Germany
Abstract
After 1989, the approach to compatriots changed radically, the numbers of Czechs abroad and the motivations for their departure changed, but the infrastructure for communication with Czechs abroad did not change radically. Consular services are primarily set up to ensure a limited time stay of a Czech abroad and not to ensure a full-fledged dual residence. The needs of providing dual residency for Czechs abroad overburden the consulates and the services provided are carried out to the general dissatisfaction of both parties. This situation can be changed in two ways: 1. by radically strengthening and expanding consular services; 2. by increasing the pressure on other branches of state administration and local governments to create, within the scope of their competence, such instruments that will allow them to communicate with Czechs abroad as much as possible directly, without the mediation of consulates. In the case of both of these strategies, it is imperative that the state administration is widely digitised. However, the digitisation of the civil service not only entails increased demands for the standardisation of civil service performance, but also for the functional literacy of the user, which can only be achieved through the clarity and standardisation of the information provided. This information can be provided to Czechs abroad: 1. directly by individual state administration bodies; 2. through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
In all the selected countries, the need for concentration of information in one place was expressed and this requirement implies that information as a whole cannot be created or provided for the compatriots by the MFA of the Czech Republic but the state administration as a whole through its portal (preferably the State Administration Portal), which will be available to adapted for this purpose. Preferably, this portal should clearly state what is to be done in communicate with the State when going abroad and what needs to be communicated when returning from abroad. The complexity and lack of clarity in the exercise of state administration leads in particular to dual citizenship of nationals of Czech diaspora nationals leads them to keep communication with the state administration in the Czech Republic to a minimum. As a result, it leads to the fact that expatriates hardly do business in the Czech Republic, they do not trade with the Czech Republic, do not send material objects, do not carry out banking transactions, do not seek ownership of real estate, and on the contrary, they dispose of them, cancel their permanent residence, do not process citizenship and Czech birth certificates for children born in abroad, do not seek to return and use their experience in the Czech Republic, do not vote. This basic need, the reproduction of the citizen as such, is followed by sub-needs such as language instruction, cultural needs, the right to vote, the possibility of return, and others. In all the countries studied, we have observed the reproduction of citizenship and compatriotism as such as a basic need and at the same time as an entity that is secured with problems.However, the digitalization of communication with the citizen should not only be a question of the state, but also of the citizen himself. In this respect, both the compatriots and the state should create platforms for cooperation - a citizen's identity should include not only a permanent address, but also an email address, a data box or other type of transferable identity abroad. Citizens going abroad need clear information on what to do when they go abroad to enable and facilitate the exercise of state administration. This need has been articulated many times in selected countries. In addition, the following needs were noted in the selected countries: to organise more events between the diaspora and Czech entities (journalism, science, culture, sport); to improve information about compatriot successes and concerns, coverage of compatriot issues in the media - topical and interesting; to improve the culture of mutual communication in general - being an official is a service and not a position of power.